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Show HN: NotepadJs – A cross-platform love letter to Notepad

(github.com)
145 points itkeman | 4 comments | 22 Jan 25 11:59 UTC | HN request time: 0.91s | source

As a native Windows user who switched to macOS a few years back, one thing I never got over was the simplicity and usefulness of the old school Notepad app. This app aims to recreate that very same experience, cross-platform and easily installable as a PWA.

I've been using this for personal use for around 2 years and I figured it was time to share it with the world. Criticism, issues and PRs are welcome. Thanks!

1. jansan ◴[22 Jan 25 13:13 UTC] No.42792444[source]▶
Nice. And just like the newer Notepad version on Windows it supports more than ONE undo step!
replies(1): >>42792582 #
2. WillAdams ◴[22 Jan 25 13:30 UTC] No.42792582[source]▶
Question --- does it support keyboard modifiers in the Find-Replace dialog? NP in Windows 11 doesn't, and it really trips me up when moving from my work laptop running Windows 10 which does (and Win 11 NotePad doesn't get these, it will be a major stumbling block for me).
replies(1): >>42801358 #
3. canucker2016 ◴[23 Jan 25 06:48 UTC] No.42801358[source]▶
Can you give an example of what you're looking for?

On my Win11 computer in notepad.exe:

- press Ctrl+H brings up a replace dialog - if I tap the ALT-key, tooltips pop up near the relevant buttons (D for search down, U for search up, R for replace, A for replace all)

- press CTRL-F brings up the find dialog - if I tap the ALT-key, tooltips pop up near the relevant buttons (D for search down, U for search up)

pressing the relevant key invokes the associated function, e.g. press D searches for the entered text in the window below the current cursor.

replies(1): >>42803839 #
4. WillAdams ◴[23 Jan 25 13:36 UTC] No.42803839{3}[source]▶
EDIT: Thank you for pointing that out.

In Windows 10 the "Replace" dialog has underlined accelerator shortcuts for

- _F_ind Next - _R_eplace - Replace _A_ll

which are obvious and visible in the dialog.

Having to tap alt is lousy UI, and frankly results in an ugly and cluttered appearance --- the underlines were able to communicate the functionality well, and far less obnoxious.

EDIT: Hopefully Windows 11 will develop a way to visually communicate this sort of functionality, as opposed to expecting folks to read a (non-existent) manual or randomly tapping keys.